A home near campus

November 13, 2023

The Institute’s new location near Carolina’s campus is ideal for facilitating a culture of low stone walls, where students, faculty and staff can easily convene to advance environmental research, education and public engagement.

The UNC Institute for the Environment is moving its headquarters from the Europa Center, an off-campus office building, to Carolina Square on UNC’s iconic Franklin Street. The move will put the Institute adjacent to campus and in closer proximity to students, research partners and the town of Chapel Hill, allowing it to better serve its mission and connect ideas, people and programs.

“Since I arrived at the Institute more than five years ago, one of our key priorities has been to relocate to campus,” said Mike Piehler, professor, director of the UNC Institute for the Environment and chief sustainability officer at Carolina. “Carolina Square is an amazing location and puts us right among Carolina’s amazing students and our collaborators. We are grateful to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research for making this move possible and look forward to continuing to thrive in this new location.”

The study of the environment permeates nearly every school and college at Carolina. Having an interdisciplinary common ground in Carolina Square allows environmental resources across campus to pool together in a central location where they can collaborate, host events and house faculty and staff that support common functions to promote and elevate Carolina’s world-class strength in the environment.

Carolina Square is a mixed-use community on historic Franklin Street and is walkable to campus and in the heart of many restaurants, coffee shops and amenities. The building is LEED Silver Certified and was built in 2017. Several other UNC departments are housed in Carolina Square, including CURRENT ArtSpace + Studio, a flexible and immersive performing arts venue for Carolina Performing Arts, the Carolina Population Center, Epidemiology, UNC Research and Center for Galapagos Studies, to name a few.

The Institute is located on the third floor and features a modern, open-concept floor plan with lots of natural light and state-of-the-art common spaces, such as meeting rooms and a café style kitchen.

The Institute’s new address is 123 W. Franklin Street, Suite 330 B, Chapel Hill, NC 27517. The campus box for mail remains the same, CB #1105.

Parking is available in the attached public parking deck. Visitors may park in an hourly parking spot on the first or second floor. The first 45 minutes are free, the second 45 minutes are $2 and every subsequent hour is $5 per hour. Electric vehicle charging stations are available.

Contact Stephanie Villaneuva, administrative support associate, for information on visiting the Institute.